7 Indicted For Drugs In Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE — A bar owner and six others arrested after the May 1 seizure of 11 pounds of raw opium worth $10 million have been indicted on federal drug charges, officials said Saturday.

Anthony Charles Aronica, 55, owner of Harvey`s Other Place, and Bobby Joe Edwards, a merchant seaman, were indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges of conspiracy to manufacture heroin and possession of opium with intent to manufacture opium, Drug Enforcement Administration agents said.

Aronica and Edwards, 47, have been held without bond since their May 1 arrest. They were arrested after reportedly hiring an undercover DEA agent to convert 11 pounds of raw opium into heroin for sale on the street.

The unidentified agent testified in an earlier hearing that the opium could have been processed into heroin worth $10 million on the street.

Edward Lamar Dowling, 27, and William Johnson III, 25, both of Jacksonville, also were charged with involvement in the opium scheme.